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The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the right of an injured seaman to recover punitive damages when an employer refuses to pay for medical care and other related expenses.
The case was based on the Jones Act, along with Miles v. Apex Marine Corp, that strictly defined the damages seamen can obtain when suing an employer for maintenance and cure, which provides compensation for medical care and living expenses during a sailor’s recovery.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority stating that punitive damages have generally been available and awarded in general maritime actions, which also includes some actions involving maintenance and cure. He wrote that “we find that nothing in Miles or the Jones Act eliminates that availability.”
Thomas went on to write that “American courts have…permitted punitive damages awards in appropriate cases since at least 1784.”
Edgar L. Townsend was a crewmember on a motor tug, when he fell on the boat’s steel deck and injured his shoulder and arm. The vessel owner, Atlantic Sounding, would not pay for the injured crewmember’s maintenance and cure. As a result, Townsend sued Atlantic Sounding for negligence and its failure to pay maintenance and cure and wrongful termination under the Jones Act and general maritime law.
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